Pop-Star Murder Mystery Manga Oshi no Ko To Finally Receive Anime Adaptation

Nerdigans Inc. |

Jun 27, 2022

Source: Oshi no Ko, Shonen Jump+ (2022), Shueisha. Exclusive Illustration by Mengo Yokoyari.

Coming off the heels of Me & Roboco’s anime adaptation announcement – who conicidentally just parodied the cover of the series’ first volume for the cover to its latest release – popular psychological slice of life manga Oshi no Ko is finally getting an anime adaptation of its own.

On June 9th, the newly created Oshi no Ko anime Twitter account announced news of the series’ production

News of the series’ production was first announced on June 9th by its newly created anime Twitter account, who alongside the reveal shared the Oshi no Ko’s first key visual.

As seen above, the key visual depicts pop star Ai Hoshino as she takes the stage to perform for her fans.

Both series author Aka Akasaka (Kaguya-sama – Love is War) and illustrator Mengo Yokoyari (Scum’s Wish) shared their excitement to the announcement via their respective Twitter accounts

“That’s right, we are going to animate [Oshi no Ko]!!!!” said Akasaka (via DeepL). “We’re planning it now, so please look forward to it! Please look forward to it!”

Reacting with a tweet reading “BEST REGARDS!!!!!!!!!!!!”, Yokoyaro shared a new illustration of protagonists Aqua and Ruby she drew in commemoration of the news.

In the image itself, the artist wrote a number of messages, including (beginning clock work from the top left), “Thanks for the support!”, “We’re going to make an anime! Wow~~~♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡ “, “Colored! Moving! Speaking!”, and “Dancing!? Singing!?”

The two also provided additional comments to the adaptation’s official website.

Akasaka told fans “I have been attending the meetings and I am hoping that I can do something that will surprise you all. I think it’s going to be a good piece, and I hope you’re looking forward to it!”, while Yokoyari promised, “The staff has been very respectful of the original work, so I think it will be satisfying for those who love the original work and of course for those who are new to the anime. It’s got idols, entertainment, singing, and dancing, so expect to see a lot of that!”

Further, it was announnced that the adaptation will be directed by Daisuke Hiramaki, whose filmography includes such anime series as Selection Project, Asteroid in Love and Wataten! An Angel Flew Down to Me, for animation studio Doga Kobo (Shikimori’s Not Just a Cutie , Himouto! Umaru-chan).

Retweeting the official anime Twitter account’s announcement, Hiarmaki added, “It’s announced! I will be the director. Enjoy!”

Kanna Hiriyama, the artist behind the key visual and the anime’s character designer, also provided some insight into her artistic process for the piece.

“The teaser visual shoot background finish is great!” she wrote to fans. “The director asked me to make the illustrations look like the original, so I did a little coloring of the characters! I love this illustration, which would never have been created by a single person because it was a group effort!”

Oshi no Ko’s anime announcement subsequently drew congratulations for Akasaka and Yokoyari from a number of their fellow mangaka, including Me & Roboco creator Shuuei Miyazaki, who stated, “Mengo Sensei congratulations”:

Mangaka of the popular dark fantasy series Made in Abyss Akihito Tsukushi, who tweeted , “Yay congratulations !!!!!”:

Though not a mangaka outright, Twitter user and artist @jump_blog celebrated the announcement by producing a commerative piece of art depicting an outfit swap between Roboco and Ai – a play on Miyazaki’s noted admiration of the series and its creative team –

“Ai Hoshino x Taira Robobo,” they wrote. “Congrats on the double anime adaptation of ‘Oshi no Ko’ and ‘Me & Roboco!'”

Currently, Oshi no Ko lacks an English-language licensor for its physical released. However, the series is available to read via official simulpubs for free on Shueisha’s official manga app Mangaplus, which will be releasing four chapter every Wednesday until it has caught up with the series.

Beginning with the series’ tag line, “‘In the world of showbiz, lies are weapons,'” the synopsis for Oshi no Ko provided by Mangaplus explains, “Goro works as an OB-GYN in the countryside, a life far removed from the entertainment industry. Meanwhile, his favorite idol, Ai Hoshino, has begun her climb to stardom. The two meet in the ‘worst possible way,” setting the gears of fate in motion!”